Marketing Person 1: That’s one way
of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is 'people like them, let’s make
some more of them’...

And so here we are today, with a
glut of flavoured whisky from both sides of the Atlantic. But what are these
beasts which seem to have been unleashed on us and what are they for?

Well, the first thing to point out
is that they are not ‘whisky’, something which is made clear on their labels
with the use of the phrase ‘Spirit Drink’ in large letters (although on the
Scotch products, the term ‘Scotch whisky’ does appear, which could lead to some
light confusion for the consumer).

The reason these products,
specifically the ones from Scotland, are not ‘Scotch whiskies’ is twofold:
firstly, because they (more often than not) are under 40% abv, and secondly
because they have been flavoured.

So what is the point of these
remixed editions? Well, it certainly is not about sipping and savouring. If you
want to find that, buy a ‘proper’ whisky. These products are more about making
spirit drinks more accessible, hopefully in a positive ‘David Beckham-esque’
manner, not a ‘make-it-sweeter-so-teenage-drinkers-can-woolf-it-down-in-the-graveyard-after-dark’
stylee.

The versatility of whisky (and we’re
talking ‘whisky’ again here now, not ‘spirit drinks’) has been focused on in a
new book by the always fantastic whisky writer Dave Broom. Whisky: The Manual takes the reader on a journey of discovery,
looking at different whiskies and how they work with mixers; everything from your
classic Jack & Coke combo
through to Macallan’s and Yamazaki 18 with coconut water, cola
and green tea.

Scrabbling around the office, we
managed to find a couple of the whiskies included in Broom’s book and try out
his little exercises to see what whisky works with what mixer.

First up, a classic: Cutty Sark Original and Soda Water. Broom scores this a 5* (the
highest rating in the book) calling it an ‘an
instant, appetizing, moreish, lightly herbal drink where the crispness of the
mixer plays off the sweetness, revealing perfume notes’.

This drink is a favourite in both the Ridley and
Harrison households, with many a summer sundowner created with a light whisky
(which Cutty is famed for) and a good slug of soda and ice. Test in the office,
which was little needed to be honest, mirrored Broom’s notes, creating a vibrant
and delicious drink perfect for a warm spring afternoon.

Casting the net from the other side of the boat, Broom
kicks the hornets’ nest that is single malt and mixers, taking some reverenced expressions such as The Macallan 18, Highland
Park 18, Yamazaki 18, Talikser 10 and The Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood and trying them out with
different partners.

Not all scored well (for example, the Yamazaki and
Macallan 18’s were both regarded as being perfect ‘naked’ or with a drizzle of
water, but not much else), where as the Bowmore
12 Years Old scored well with coconut water and the one we decided to try, Lagavulin 16 with coke, both coming in
with a 5/5 score.

Lagavulin 16
with cola was a real surprise. Measured out in equal parts, the smoke kicks
through the bold cola flavours and delivers something not too far off a
smoky Dr. Pepper. I’d be interested to see where a cola syrup would take this
(or even a cola cube in an Old Fashioned: ‘Smoke
and Coke’, which sounds like a like a night out in 1980’s New York,
anyone?) and how far this partnership could be pushed. Well worth a try at
home.

Broom’s book is another step towards the idea of whisky
(in ALL forms) as a mixer. Not to
remove the halo that, say single malt Scotch has and force on a crown of
thorns, whisky is just a drink and should be enjoyed. If enjoying it means
mixing it, then by all means do so.

And this brings us back around to flavoured whisky: if
used properly, they can provide a great entry point for the consumer into the
world of whisky and a wonderful mixer to a cocktail. At their very bet, these ‘pop’
editions of whisky might even encourage their fans to seek out the real
flavours behind the booze. But only if they’re good.

Of the new releases we have seen recently, few have
taken well to our palate. Not for their over-sweetened ideal of what a cocktail
ingredient should taste like, but their closeness to reality: how real
do they taste.

One good example has been Jim Beam Red Stag, something we used a few years ago in a coffee
cocktail, and it was excellent.

But recently there have been some new release, in the
shape of J&B Urban Honey and Ballantine’s Brasil from Scotland and Early Times Fire Eater from the States.

Ballantine’s
Brasil is bottled t 35% abv and is a Spirit Drink made from ‘Scotch whisky selectively cask steeped with
Brazilian lime peel’. The result is a rather odd affair of sweetness and
bitterness, delivering some oak-tones and a smoothness on the palate with a
hint of lime coming through. Too much of a liqueur note about this for us, used
as a mixer it added an additional layer of sweetness to most of the cocktails
we tried it with. However, with soda and a lime wedge with wasn’t half bad.

Urban Honey sounds
like a new album from Beyonce, but is actually the new expression from the age-old
blended Scotch house J&B. The
thing about this release is... it is actually really, really nice. On the nose,
there is nothing but honey and whisky; no saccharine sweet notes. It doesn’t
smell like a freshly cleaned diabetes ward, which a lot of these products can. The
biggest surprise here is the taste, which is a brilliant balance of honey and
whisky. Enough earthy tones from the oak matured spirit, this certainly has a ‘real’
feel to it. Again, this has been developed at 35% abv.

Early Times Fire
Eater: this is a ‘hot cinnamon
liqueur’ and is ‘a blend of fine
spirits, Early Times whisky and cinnamon flavours’. Also at 35% abv, this
is very sweet and full of cinnamon (as you would expect). I’m not quite sure
what the point of this is or where one would best use it. Aside from the
extreme sweetness, the flavour is good and it tastes real. I think this could
work well with Ginger Beer... something for the backburner (if you excuse the
pun), the results of which I’ll let you know about at some stage.

So there you have it, as the doors of ‘Club Whisky’ swing wider by the day, with
grain whisky, flavoured offerings and books like Whisky: The Manual, opening
the appeal of our beloved spirit to an even wider audience, we are seeing the
dusty old members’ club become more of a drinking democracy. In the words of
Woolf Smith: Power To The People.